Daily metals

Base metals are rallying sharply this Friday morning on renewed Middle East peace hopes. Comparing this morning's trade prices (05:37 GMT) to Wednesday's official close, copper is trading at 13,400 — down 0.5% from the 13,466 close — while aluminium at 3,498 is up 0.9%. Tin is the standout mover, trading at 52,500, a hefty 1.8% premium to Wednesday's 51,575 close. Nickel (17,435, flat), lead (1,955, -0.4%) and zinc (3,467, -0.2%) are all close to their Wednesday levels. Note that Thursday's LME session saw copper touch a three-week low at $13,378 before recovering on Trump's late-session peace announcement. Macro & Geopolitics The dominant story is President Trump's announcement late Thursday that a US-Iran peace deal could be signed this weekend, potentially reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has not confirmed a final decision. The news triggered a broad risk-on rally: Wall Street posted its biggest daily gains since April 8, Asian equities surged (KOSPI +7.8%, Nikkei +3.6%), and Brent crude slumped to two-month lows near $89. The ECB raised rates by 25bp to 2.25% on Thursday — its first hike in nearly three years — to combat war-driven inflation. US PPI came in hotter than expected for May, with the largest annual gain in 3½ years. Markets have trimmed Fed rate hike bets, with October pricing falling from 51% to 36%. European bourses are set to open sharply higher, with pan-region futures up 1.8%. Base Metals Copper rallied 1.6% to $13,704 in early Asian trade on Friday, recovering from Thursday's three-week low. The rebound is driven by peace deal optimism and falling oil prices, which ease inflation and rate-hike fears that had been weighing on the complex. LME warehouse stocks have fallen 37% over the past two months to 226,975 tonnes, tightened by ongoing US tariff speculation drawing material stateside. Aluminium gained 1.1%, supported by supply concerns — the Gulf accounts for roughly 9% of global smelting capacity. Zinc (+1.0%), nickel (+1.1%) and tin (+0.8%) all firmed. ING's Ewa Manthey noted copper's recent weakness has been macro-driven rather than fundamental, and that stabilising energy prices or softer rate expectations would be needed for sustained recovery. Precious Metals Gold is under pressure, down 0.5–1% to around $4,170–4,190 on Friday morning, heading for a weekly loss of over 3%. The metal hit a six-month low on Thursday before bouncing on Trump's peace announcement. Spot gold has lost roughly 20% since the Iran war began as rising energy costs fuel rate-hike expectations. ANZ cut its year-end gold target by $400 to $5,200. Silver fell 0.5% to $67, platinum gained 0.7% to $1,731, and palladium rose 1.8% to $1,292, up about 5% for the week — notably, India raised platinum-based cancer drug price caps by 50% due to raw material shortages. Rare Earth Metals Siemens Energy CEO Christian Bruch confirmed the company is still sourcing the majority of its rare earths from China, with diversification efforts covering only 15–20% of demand via Japan and Australia. Separately, a US-backed fund — the Orion Critical Mineral Consortium — is reportedly exploring a stake in troubled French miner Eramet, potentially acquiring some or all of the Duval family's 37% holding. Forex The euro firmed 0.4% to $1.1580 on Thursday despite the ECB's rate hike, as the dollar weakened broadly on peace deal hopes. The dollar index fell to 99.69, near a one-week low. Sterling rose 0.4% to $1.3415. The yen strengthened to 159.94 per dollar, staying near the 160 level that markets view as a potential intervention trigger for Japanese authorities. For European scrap traders, the weaker dollar provides some relief on dollar-denominated metal costs, though the ECB's tightening cycle adds a headwind for domestic demand. Watch Today UK April GDP data is due at 07:00 BST — a key read on whether the UK economy is holding up under energy-driven inflation. The preliminary University of Michigan consumer sentiment reading for June lands at 15:00 BST, with markets watching inflation expectations closely. SpaceX makes its market debut on Wall Street — the $75bn IPO could influence broader risk appetite. Any weekend developments on the US-Iran peace deal will be critical for Monday's open.